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Application

Applying to the MOC program:

 

  1. ABOG's MOC staff will send an email notification in January when it's time to apply.
  2. Log into ABOG's portal and complete the MOC application and pay the annual program fee.
  3. October 15, 2024 is the deadline to complete the 2024 application.
  4. The earlier in the year that you apply and begin completing the MOC program requirements, the better. The deadline to complete annual MOC requirements is November 15, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. CT.

 

You have to apply to participate in the MOC process each year. The application is made available on your portal. Failure to submit an application by the November deadline will result in a loss of certification. There are no late deadlines and no late fees.

 

 


Requirements for All Applicants for the MOC Program

 

 

You have to meet all of the following requirements to participate in the MOC process.

 

You may still participate in MOC under an Administrative license depending on your specific state requirements and regulations. An approval from the ABOG Credentials Committee will be required to participate in MOC.


ABOG may, at its discretion, allow a physician practicing medicine exclusively outside the United States, its territories, and Canada to be certified or maintain certification without a full and unrestricted license in at least one jurisdiction in the United States, its territories, or Canada provided that all of the following requirements are met:

  • You have complied with all legal and regulatory requirements governing the practice of medicine in the country where you are practicing and have an unrestricted license to practice medicine in that country.
  • Any prior license to practice medicine in the United States, its territories, or Canada has not been revoked or suspended, voluntarily surrendered, or allowed to expire to avoid disciplinary action(s).


If you have unsupervised hospital privileges, those privileges must be unrestricted in each hospital in which patient care had been conducted during the past 12 months.


If you must have your practice monitored in Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) identified by Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations (OPPE) processes, this will be reviewed by ABOG to determine if the required monitoring or proctoring represents restrictions to clinical practice.

If you have resigned from a hospital staff or other healthcare organization, including all membership organizations (e.g., ACOG), while under investigation for ethical, moral, professional, or other alleged misbehavior or substandard patient care, a letter from that hospital or other organization stating that they are no longer pursuing the investigation must accompany the MOC application.


The application will not be approved until and unless such documentation is received from the healthcare organization. If the information is not received by November 15, 2021, regardless of the reason for non-receipt, you will not participate in the MOC process and will lose board certification on December 31, 2021.

If you have no hospital practice or medical staff membership (outpatient care only) or are clinically inactive, an explanation must be submitted with the application.


Another ABOG Diplomate in good standing, excluding a spouse or other family member, must attest in Year 1 of each MOC cycle that you are of good moral and ethical character and have elected to have limited or no inpatient hospital practice.

If you are not actively involved in the clinical practice of medicine, but choose to participate in the MOC process (e.g., dean, hospital administrator, health plan administrator, researcher, or sabbatical), a letter of explanation must be submitted with the application. ABOG must be notified of your status and approve any requests for exemption from Part IV requirements. If you receive an exemption from Part IV requirements, you can be designated as ABOG-certified but currently not be in the active practice of medicine. If you return to active clinical practice, ABOG may be petitioned to remove the designation.


Another ABOG Diplomate in good standing, excluding a spouse or other family member, must attest in a letter that you are of good moral and ethical character and that you have elected not to have a clinical practice.


You will continue to be a board-certified physician, but you certification status will indicate that you are not in clinical practice.


If you return to clinical practice, a letter must be sent to ABOG indicating that fact.

In Year 1 of each six-year MOC cycle, if you are practicing in a country other than the United States and its territories or Canada,you must submit a letter with the application from a responsible senior official in the hospital or clinical setting where you practice.


The letter must attest that you have independent, unsupervised privileges for the practice of obstetrics and gynecology and that your practice of medicine meets all local standards.

This evidence may be collected by ABOG confidentially from administrative officers of organizations and hospitals where you are known and practice, from state and local medical boards, from medical societies, and from other appropriate sources of information.

  • Disciplinary or non-disciplinary actions (e.g., reprimand, warning, admonishment, restriction, condition, suspension, probation, denial of renewal, or revocation) on any medical license held in any states or province.
  • Misdemeanor or felony indictment, plea, or conviction
  • Controlled substance, drug, or alcohol-related offenses
  • Limitations, restrictions, denial of renewal, suspensions, or loss of hospital privileges


If you are unable to attest to these statements online, you may not be approved to participate in the MOC process.